The present invention relates to machines useful in the production of spectacle lenses. In particular, the invention provides a machine for pre-cutting or edging an optic lens.
After manufacture of a spectacle lens, it is necessary to edge the lens so that the lens will fit into a spectacle frame. Additionally, in some manufacturing processes that use optical preforms or wafers, it may be desirable to pre-cut a preform or wafer prior to casting one or more layers onto its surfaces in order to minimize center thickness.
The majority of current pre-cutter and edger machines require the optic, meaning a lens, preform, or wafer to be mounted on a block for holding and positioning the optic. The use of a block is disadvantageous in that it must be removed after the trimming or edging process is complete. In addition, the optic is secured to the block by an adhesive that must be cleaned off of the optic once the operation is complete. These additional steps are relatively complex and thus, relatively expensive to automate.
Conventional pre-cutter and edger machines also are disadvantageous in several other respects. In particular, current machines require an operator to load and download the optic at each station, which is inefficient and expensive. Another problem is that traced data is required to cut the optic to fit a particular frame shape. Furthermore, the optic is cleaned manually. For these reasons, conventional pre-cutting and edging machines are inefficient and expensive.
In addition, it is important to maintain the area in which the optic is being manufactured substantially free from particles and debris. To ensure that the edging or pre-cutting debris does not contaminate the manufacturing area, these operations are typically performed in an area separate from the optic manufacturing area.
Finally, typically conventional machines have an optimum cycle time of approximately 60 seconds per optic. Thus, more than one machine is generally used in order to increase the production rate.
It is therefore desirable to develop a pre-cutter, an edger, or both that overcomes some or all of these disadvantages.